Art Deco commercial building "Gundowring House" Wodonga

This Art Deco building is one of those places I look at and think if it were something else in a past life. Could it have been a home, a hotel perhaps? Either way the more you look at the design elements in this building there more interesting features there are. There are the portholes at the top of the facade as well as interesting details on the left hand side of the building. The arching vertical rendering is very interesting and the use of this style was becoming more popular in design in the Post War Period and featured frequently in designs up until the 1960s.

Kyabrym Art Deco Shop "Pettifer's" with original features

During my 20,000km journey photographing 20c architecture, nothing pleased me more than taking a stroll down a main street in a country town and seeing in-tact period buildings. This was the case when visiting the township of Kyabrym, 170km North of Melbourne.

This little Deco Gem by the name of "Pettifer's" has pretty much all of it's original features, even the interior spaces are set out lovingly, it's as if you have walked back into the 1930s! The manikins are really interesting in the own right, I remember seeing these in shops all the time, but they too are becoming a rare sight.Check out the typeface used and the horizontal banding, black background with gold writing spelling out "Pettifer's" and the arrows pointing to the entrance!

In Ballarat there is a very similar designed shop by the name of "Walter Davis",(click here to see a photo of it) I wonder if per chance it was designed by the same Architect who did Pettifer's?

Cardwell Fish & Chip Shop

I've got a soft spot for the corner store. Likely because they are an Australian institution, and sadly they are a slowly disappearing. This fish and chip shop stands alone on the main highway and I really loved there was nothing surrounding it and all of the signs. Many a shop was designed in a functional style in the 20th Century....and yes you get a massive serve of chips and the service is great!

Art Deco "Palm Court" Flats - Ingham

North Queensland has its own vernacular of 20th Century design when compared to southern Australia. This wonderful example of streamline Art Deco flats is situated in Ingham, on the drive between Townsville and Cairns. The concrete eyebrows over the windows and the recessed balconies are typical of Modernist design in the tropics where extremities of heat, humidity and rain are the norm. The symmetrical design is pleasing to the eye and so is the sweeping staircase, a central feature of the building, as is the Dutch style detailing on the top of the building.